How to Write a Mobile App Business Plan + Free Template
Writing a mobile app business plan is crucial for the success of your app. It allows you to outline your goals, strategies, and financial projections. In this article, we will guide you through the process of creating a mobile app business plan, step by step.
1. Executive Summary
The executive summary is a concise overview of your mobile app business plan. It should briefly describe your app, target market, unique selling proposition, and financial projections. Keep it succinct and impactful.
2. Company Description
Provide essential details about your company, such as its name, location, and legal structure. Explain your mission and vision for the app, as well as your competitive advantage. Avoid unnecessary details that don’t add value.
Conduct a thorough market analysis to understand the current trends, competition, and target audience. Identify your app’s unique value proposition and explain how it addresses a market need. Be precise and specific.
4. Product Description
Describe your mobile app in detail, focusing on its features, functionalities, and user experience. Highlight how your app solves a problem or fulfills a need in the market. Avoid repetitive ideas and unnecessary elaboration.
5. Marketing and Sales Strategies
Outline your marketing and sales strategies to promote and distribute your app. Identify your target audience and explain how you plan to attract and retain users. Use clear and concise language.
6. Financial Projections
Provide financial projections for your mobile app business, including revenue, expenses, and profit. Use realistic assumptions and data to support your projections. Keep it simple and straightforward.
7. Funding Requirements
Explain your funding requirements, whether you’re seeking external investment or self-funding. Specify how the funds will be used, and the potential return on investment for investors. Be precise and concise.
8. Management Team
Introduce your management team and highlight their expertise and relevant experience. Clearly explain each member’s role and contribution to the app’s success. Avoid overly descriptive language.
9. Appendix
Include any additional information that supports your mobile app business plan, such as market research data, user surveys, or product prototypes. Keep it relevant and organized.
10. Conclusion
Writing a mobile app business plan may seem daunting, but it’s essential for securing funding and guiding your app’s development. Follow these steps to create a concise and impactful plan that will set your app up for success.
When Apple released the first iPhone in 2008, it also launched the App Store—with around 500 apps. Today, there are roughly 5 million apps available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, outnumbering the population of Los Angeles.
Although the "gold rush" era of app development is over, creating apps is still a valuable way to offer useful or entertaining services. An app can also be part of a larger business strategy.
However, with intense competition, simply having an idea and a team of mobile app developers is not enough to build a profitable and successful app. You need a well-thought-out business plan to guide your vision and implementation. This article provides steps to create your mobile app business plan and offers tips for running it successfully.
If you need further guidance, you can download our free mobile app development business plan for a full outline that can inspire your own plan.
Contents
- 1 How to write a business plan for a mobile app
- 2 Mobile app development tips for startup growth
- 3 Download your free mobile app development business plan template
How to write a business plan for a mobile app
A business plan can be as concise as you need it to be, no more. In fact, even a one-page plan can help you launch a successful app development firm.
Writing a business plan for your mobile app comes down to evaluating your app idea, defining your goals, and outlining the steps to achieve them. A good business plan serves as both a starting point and a roadmap, which you can update as you progress.
Here are essential components that your mobile app development business plan should include:
1. Determine the type of app you will develop
Competition and opportunity exist within every app sector. If you are unsure about the sector to target, consider strong contenders and trending app verticals such as productivity, shopping (mobile-specific and general eCommerce), health and fitness, personalization, and gaming.
The sector you choose will influence the type of app you build. For example, you need to decide whether you will code for Apple iOS, Google Android, or both. Additionally, consider whether you will develop a web or hybrid app and whether the app complements an existing website.
Having this information defined upfront helps you conduct proper research and simplifies writing your business plan.
2. Conduct market research and analyze competitors
Having a good idea for an app is one thing, but you need to determine if your idea has a hungry market waiting to buy. Understanding your potential customer base is crucial when developing your business plan.
Start by evaluating similar apps and competitors in your target vertical. If there are already apps performing similar functions to what you envision, consider these questions during your research:
– Who are their customers?
– Are they targeting the same ideal customer and market?
– How will your company engage and involve the market in testing and promotion?
– What are the demographics and psychographics of your target market?
Without a clear understanding of your app’s market, attracting, installing, and retaining customers will be challenging. Researching the market and competitors can also give you insights into expected app features, pricing and revenue models, service gaps, and unmet customer needs.
Understanding these factors allows your business plan to address potential threats to your app’s viability, such as user abandonment. User retention is a challenge in the app market, with 25% of customers using an app only once before uninstalling it. Make sure to consider how to attract new customers while also keeping them engaged.
3. Positioning and promotional strategies
Once you have validated the market demand for your app concept, it’s time to plan how to promote and position it effectively. Your business plan doesn’t need to include a detailed marketing plan, but it should outline essential elements that guide your app’s marketing throughout its development and launch cycles.
Your plan should, at minimum, include foundational messaging for pitching, branding, mission, and your overall sales and marketing strategy, addressing the following:
– Develop and refine your elevator pitch: Clearly communicate what your app does, its importance, and what makes it appealing to various stakeholders.
– Outline how you will build awareness, interest, and need for the app: Will you involve early testers? Work with social media influencers, traditional media, or celebrities? Explain the problems your app solves or the joy it provides.
– Define your branding and marketing tasks: Decide on your company and app names, and plan how to engage your target market on social media. Consider producing original content to attract your key audience.
Your business plan should allow you to view your app from different perspectives, including those of a founder, key player, customer, or investor. Understanding these viewpoints will help you develop compelling messaging, build your app effectively, and ensure its success.
Free Mobile App Business Plan Template
Use this business plan to launch a competitive mobile app development business.
4. Startup costs, financials, and pricing
Determine the potential startup costs for your app. Consider the factors for your financial plan.
Platform development
Expect different development costs for iOS, Android, or both. Define a function, outline your MVP, wireframe, code, test, design, and more.
Internal employees or outside contractors?
If you plan to build a firm with employees, benefits, and offices, you will have a different cost structure. Alternatively, you can outsource to a contracted development company or work with a freelance team. You may need pros for mobile and backend development, design, QA, customer support, marketing, and management.
Resources you have and need
Your app’s development and release timeline depend on the resources you have access to.
Support
Successful apps monitor and improve. Consider app crashes, scalability, usage metrics, and updates for OS updates.
Understanding these costs will help you develop a budget and forecast your app company’s growth over time.
5. Development milestones
Pre-release milestones reflect major accomplishments in the development process. Examples include key feature production, MVP completion, testing and refinement, app store acceptance, launch, achievement of sales and adoption goals, and implementation of new features and versions.
Focusing on pre-release goals will pave the way to future growth, releases, and profits.
Mobile app development tips for startup growth
Consider the following tips and factors as you develop your mobile app’s business plan.
Native, hybrid, or web?
Consider developing tailored apps for each OS to maximize performance. Native apps tend to be better for complex functions while lightweight functions may work fine in a web or hybrid environment.
Security and privacy
Privacy and security are crucial considerations, especially for regulated industries like healthcare and financial services.
Decide on a platform: Apple, Android, or both?
Your target market’s OS preference should guide your development decisions. Developing for both platforms requires more resources but expands your reach. You can also consider launching on one platform and adding another later.
Offline vs online
Consider whether your app can function offline, as it can lead to better customer satisfaction. Managing offline capabilities and syncing functions can build trust and loyalty with users.
Revenue model: Free/freemium, subscription, in-app purchases, ads, or a combo?
Apps can drive revenue through various models, including freemium, subscriptions, in-app purchases, ads, or a combination of these. Choose a revenue model that suits your app’s goals and target audience.
Test properly before launch
Thoroughly test your app before launch to avoid potential issues and ensure a successful release.
Continuously testing across devices, users, and OS versions can catch problems early and maintain your startup’s viability and profitability.
Download your free mobile app development business plan template
Download our free mobile app development business plan template to set up your business and achieve your goals. It’s just one of many time-tested sample plans available.
Create the mobile app development business you envision with the help of a solid business plan. Download your free template and get started.
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